In October, Netflix said it would produce 1000 hours of original content in 2017, and has increased its content budget to $6bn (£4.9bn) to achieve it. In 2016, the company produced 600 hours of programming.

Mainstream broadcasters such as the BBC appear to be following suit; BBC director-general Lord Hall said that he wants to "reinvent public broadcasting for a new generation", citing Netflix is an example of how iPlayer could improve.

One possibility is that the BBC will let viewers download entire series before they air on TV, rather than restricting viewers to the traditional linear TV schedule.